An estimated 40% of the cityís streetlights are already out. And asking if the lights will go out ignores one of Detroitís most pernicious problems. The cityís failure to maintain its streetlights is a direct result of the decades of poor governance and lack of investment that ultimately drove the city into bankruptcy protection. And it glosses over a public safety debacle that has prompted Detroit residents, who pay the highest residential tax rate in the state, to leave the city, taking with them revenue the city needs to recover from bankruptcy.

So whatís the right question? How about, what will happen to city services, like streetlights? Now you have some room for details.

Letís deal with the answer. The AP answers its lights-out question with the following:

ďMr. Orr says a ruling in favor of bankruptcy will allow the city to keep paying bills incurred since July 18. And it can keep police on the streets, firefighters on duty and streetlights aglow. City leaders have said those services have improved since the city filed for bankruptcy and police response times were near an hour.Ē

While this is partially right, it offers no context to the cityís struggle ó amid lack of funding and persistent theft ó to turn on and maintain the lights.

But the right answer would sound more like: The cityís decision not to pay key creditors and to file for bankruptcy has freed up money for city services, which have suffered for years. City leaders say those services have improved and will continue to do so. And in a city where an estimated 40% of the streetlights are out, a new authority has been appointed and has announced a three-year plan to overhaul the system ó that is, if the creditors donít succeed in defunding it.

Even with this context, the condition of Detroitís streetlights makes the city look terrible. Do we want to air these details before a national audience? Like it or not, Detroitís track record on streetlights is one of city governmentís biggest failures, and if youíre going to even mention streetlights, that failure must be part of Detroitís bankruptcy narrative, locally and nationally.

Read more about Detroit's streetlight problems, and what's being done to fix them: